Playwright Peter Shaffer (1926-2016) chased the same idea for 30 years. A mild-mannered, rule-bound protagonist meets a counterpart who is wild at heart. Our hero is at first repelled but soon becomes fascinated, envious, even obsessed. Theatergoers who remember Five Finger Exercise (1958), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), Equus (1973), and Lettice and Lovage (1987) will recognize the theme. Virtue may be its own reward, but passion is the only sure road to transcendence.